Joseph P. Jablonski Interview, 22 February 2005

If people wanted to access that site it was usually maintenance, Targeting Team, I suppose that's about it?

JJ:

Yeah.

TT:

I suppose the maintenance guys, basically they just what, called in and you just verified that they were on the site? Or would that have to come to the

JJ:

Oh, they'd have to come to theeverybody had the code, the code pages too you had to authenticate with the capsule crew.

TT:

So they'd bring their codes and keys, they'd have to come and talk to the FSC?

JJ:

Well, over the radio, yeah.

TT:

Right, you'd assist the maintenance guys if they needed help?

JJ:

Well, if there was a maintenance team on the site, there had to be security there too.

TT:

So OK, you had to be there.

JJ:

Well, it wouldn't be me it would be, you know, someone that would come up with them from the base I assume.

TT:

Yeah, if they're opening the silo.

JJ:

Yeah.

TT:

But if they go into Soft Support...

JJ:

No, they'd do the authentication and everything, and they'd do everything through the capsule crew. And if it didn't look right to the capsule crew, then they'd dispatch us.

TT:

Right. So you'd do 12 hours on, 12 hours off. All six of you would be out there for three days and all six of you would go back, and a new team of six would come in?

JJ:

Right. Plus the capsule crew so it'd be a total of eight. Well, actually, nine with the site maintenance guy, the janitor or whatever you want to call him. And a cook too so that's ten.

JJ:

You said you were at those sites, recently?

TT:

Oh yeah, they are still active. They have Minuteman III's.

JJ:

Yeah, they were deposturing or whatever when I was there.

TT:

They got triple warhead MIRV out there now. Yeah, Grand Forks is closed down but Malmstrom and Minot and I think Whiteman and the one up in Wyoming, F.E. Warren? So the security alarms would go off on a periodic basis?

JJ:

Yeah, they would always... like I said...

TT:

You'd have 6, 7, 8 of them a night or something? I saw some of the figures and I was amazed at how often they were going off. But now it was usually just the outer alarms?